Organic reactions, Lewis acid-base processes

Most organic reactions are Lewis acid/base processes that involve the interaction of a nucleophilic center with an electrophilic center. Because electrochemistry provides the ultimate nucleophile via the electrons at the cathode surface and the ultimate electrophile via the electron holes at the anode surface, it is the ideal methodology for the characterization of the electrophilicity and nucleophilic-ity of molecules. Thus, the carbon centers of saturated hydrocarbons (e.g., CH4) are resistant to electrochemical reduction and oxidation because of their inert nature (all valence electrons are stabilized in sigma bonds an absence of any Lewis acid/base character). However, organic molecules with electrophilic components [e.g., alkyl-, aryl-, and acyl- halides carbonyl groups unsaturated and aromatic hydrocarbons nitro groups Brpnsted... 

While the Bronsted acid/base terms specifically refer to proton donors and acceptors, respectively, the Lewis approach (named after G. N. Lewis, who introduced the idea in 1923) greatly broadens the definitions of what is an acid and what is a base. Recall that a Lewis acid is an electron pair acceptor and a Lewis base is an electron pair donor. All common organic reactions that do not involve radicals or concerted pericyclic processes can in some manner be discussed as Lewis acid-base reactions. Similarly, all these reactions can be considered to be occurring between electrophiles and nucleophiles. Recall that an electrophile is any species seeking electrons and a nucleophile is any species seeking a nucleus (or positive charge) toward which it can donate its electrons. In this context, a Lewis base is synonymous with a nucleophile, and a Lewis acid is synonymous with an electrophile it just de-... 

Lewis acids and bases are defined in terms of electron pair transfers. A Lewis base is an electron pair donor, and a Lewis acid is an electron pair acceptor. Like many reactions, an organic reaction results from a process of breaking covalent bonds and forming new ones. This process involves electron pair transfers. Ionic mechanisms, such as nucleophilic substitution and electrophilic substitution, also involve electron pair transfers and are therefore described by the Lewis acid-base theory. 

Acidic chloroaluminate ionic liquids have already been described as both solvents and catalysts for reactions conventionally catalyzed by AICI3, such as catalytic Friedel-Crafts alkylation [35] or stoichiometric Friedel-Crafts acylation [36], in Section 5.1. In a very similar manner, Lewis-acidic transition metal complexes can form complex anions by reaction with organic halide salts. Seddon and co-workers, for example, patented a Friedel-Crafts acylation process based on an acidic chloro-ferrate ionic liquid catalyst [37]. 

Asymmetric allyation of carbonyl compounds to prepare optically active secondary homoallyhc alcohols is a useful synthetic method since the products are easily transformed into optically active 3-hydroxy carbonyl compounds and various other chiral compounds (Scheme 1). Numerous successful means of the reaction using a stoichiometric amount of chiral Lewis acids or chiral allylmetal reagents have been developed and applied to organic synthesis however, there are few methods available for a catalytic process. Several reviews of asymmetric allylation have been pubHshed [ 1,2,3,4,5] and the most recent [5] describes the work up to 1995. This chapter is focussed on enantioselective allylation of carbonyl compounds with allylmetals under the influence of a catalytic amount of chiral Lewis acids or chiral Lewis bases. Compounds 1 to 19 [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,... 

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